The only thing that stops the dust is the rain. It’s a sweet reprieve, but there is no middle ground. The land is either as dry as the Betty Ford clinic, or as wet as the ocean floor. Everything can be seen from the ridge overlooking Armadillo as John Marston gently bounces along atop...

For decades, gamers have embarked upon journeys through the unforgettable
worlds of the
FINAL FANTASY® franchise. The FINAL FANTASY series is world-renowned
for creating new
standards in the RPG genre, while redefining the limits of existing
technology. FINAL FANTASY has now entered the next evolutional phase
– online play.

In FINAL FANTASY XI, players are immersed in an expansive, original
storyline as they embark
on missions and build up their character’s skills and attributes,
either alone or with other
members of the community, ultimately creating the history of an expansive
world called
Vana’diel. Vana’diel will provide players with multiple
adventures through vast environments
ranging from mountains, forests, ice plains, deserts, oceans, rivers,
castles and dungeons.
Vana’diel is truly a persistent world, composed of three unique
nations: the Republic of Bastok,
the Kingdom of San d’Oria, and the Federation of Windurst.

With the ability to create unique characters, encompassing a variety
of races, facial features, size,
hair-styles and attributes, players will be able to play at their own
pace and form parties with
other players while embarking on multiple adventures. Various communication
tools have been
incorporated into FINAL FANTASY XI to assist in interaction between
players, including
easy-to-use chat and messaging systems.

STORYLINE

Twenty years have passed since the Great Crystal War, when the forces
of darkness gathered and
evil threatened the peaceful kingdoms of Vana’deil. An alliance
was formed to rid Vana’diel of
the evil; but after a narrow victory, the threat has returned. As the
beastmen organize their forces
and make their advance towards the nation of San d’Oria, Windurst
and Bastok, a desperate call
goes out to adventurers around the globe for help.

KEY FEATURES

•FINAL FANTASY XI allows gamers to live in a truly persistent
world with cross-platform
play between console and personal computer.

•FINAL FANTASY XI is a massive multiplayer online role-playing
game that tasks players
with creating the history of Vana’diel.

Character Customization

•In FINAL FANTASY XI, players can create an alter ego from the
inhabiting races of
Vana’diel. Players can choose from numerous physical traits such
as face models, body
size and hair color, as well as country of origin, and profession.

•Each race has its own unique history and traits:
o Humes are well balanced for a variety of jobs, and are the ideal race
to chose if
players are unsure of which job to pursue.
o Galka (male-race only) have unsurpassed power and hand-to-hand fighting
abilities.
o Tarutaru may look harmless, but they posses immense magical powers.
o Mithra (female-race only) are agile hunters of a nomadic race that
make them
outstanding thieves.
o Elvaan stand tall and proud, and their confidence is a result of their
impressive
strength. They make exceptional warriors.

•Advanced jobs, such as “dark knight,” “summoner,”
and “ninja,” will enhance a player’s
ability to specialize in unique attack skills.

Conquests, Missions and Quests

•From one of three starting nations, players participate in missions
to establish their
social standing within a nation, conquests to raise their nation’s
standing, and quests
to uncover helpful items, earn money, and discover valuable information
and more
about the story of Vana’diel.

•Bringing a sense of national rivalry and strategy, the conquest
of regions will affect
players and everyone within their nation. A weekly tally of all achievements,
such as
battles that a nation has completed, will rank and reward the most dominant
nation.

•Conquering regions brings the benefits of granting players access
to special items
specific to the areas just conquered.